De facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatim today confirmed that Attorney-General Ainum Mohd Saaid was on a two-month leave but was tight-lipped on allegations that she was under investigation by the Securities Commission.

"She has gone on leave for health reasons," he told reporters after officiating Ampang Jaya's Residents' Day event in Kuala Lumpur today.

However, Rais refused to comment further beyond saying he was in charge of the Attorney-General's chambers.

"The Chambers is completely under my purview and my comments would be this for the moment," he said.

The minister added that he would be aware if Ainum had been asked to go on leave due to other reasons.

"If there is any development later, then I do not know," he said.

Rais was responding to a question by malaysiakini on whether Ainum was told to go on leave pending investigation by the Securities Commission where she was deputy chief executive since April 1999 before being appointed to the post of attorney-general early this year.

An official in the Attorney-General's chambers had earlier told malaysiakini that Ainum took a one-month leave early last month, and this was later extended for another month.

In-house probe

It was learnt that the Securities Commission was conducting an in-house probe regarding problematic securities commission duties which were executed during Ainum's tenure at the SC.

Ainum was also chairperson of the Securities Industry Development Centre, which is the education and training arm of the commission.

Previously, she had worked in the commercial sector as executive director and chief operating officer in several public-listed companies.

The attorney-general had also worked in the government legal and judicial sector for 26 years as a parliamentary draughtsperson and holding other posts.

She was seconded to the World Bank, Washington DC, as a counsel in the Private Sector Development Group from 1990 to 1991.

Ainum, 55, who is Malaysia's first woman AG, was appointed to the post last December for a two-year term starting this year.